ANOTHER STAKEOUT

Police surveillance must be a somewhat strange endeavor to partake in. You wait around for days on end, hoping for something to happen. And then, when it does – BANG – in a blink of an eye, your are thrust right into the unknown. And do you know what? That is what is depicted in this film! One Directed by John Badham; and Starring: Richard Dreyfuss, Emilio Estevez, and Rosie O'Donnell. It was made in 1993, and lasts for 108 minutes.

THE STORY:
Detective Chris Lecce (Richard Dreyfuss) has a very strange problem to deal with. No. It does not have anything to do with his girlfriend, Maria, dumping him. Not really, anyway. And no. It does not have anything to do with his partner, Detective Bill Reimers (Emilio Estevez), sporting a very silly-looking mustache either. He can live with that. It is because when he and Bill are assigned their next mission together, A.D.A. Gina Garrett (Rosie O'Donnell), is coming along with them as well, because they have to pose as a ‘family’.

Oh! Wait a minute. I forgot to mention their 'mission', huh?

Well, a witness who was recently in police custody, named Luella Delano (Cathy Moriarty) has narrowly avoided an assassination attempt made on her life by hitman, Tony Castellano (Miguel Ferrer). So now that Luella is free, its up to Chris and the gang to camp out in a house that is just adjacent to a lake-side property belonging to friends of hers, Brian and Pam O'Hara (Dennis Farnia and Marcia Strassman), to survey if she turns up or not.

Simple thing to do, right? No - not really.

Chris pines for Maria. Gina runs after her dog. Bill has to have a shave and do his best during a midnight surveillance assignment. Plus, on top of all that, when Gina accidentally on purpose invites Brian and Pam over for dinner, this also gives Bill the opportunity to plant a bug in there house, just so that this jovial trio can eavesdrop more succinctly on Luella’s whereabouts.

But I have to be honest with you, Bill should not have really bothered. Because guess who Bill bumps into while Chris and Gina make a pigs ear out of there ‘get together’ with Brian and Pam? Correct. Luella. She shows up at there house, and subdues Bill just before he gets a chance to tell her that he is a detective, BOING!

Meanwhile, whilst of this is all going on, Las Vegas bound hitman, Tony, is so agitated that no one has seen Luella with his vicinity, he takes matters into his own hand to track her down. Results? Confusing to say the least.

Huh! So that must be why what next transpires is a right mad-cap affair all in all? As Detectives get dumped - dogs get humped - crooks get clumped - and good guys get funked.

Only in a nice way of course.

(Another Stake out Trailer in Spanish Guys, no habla anglais)

THE REVIEW:
Wasn't life a lot better back in the day? Things were less expensive. Tastes were more vague. People enjoyed big hair and funny mustaches. Plus lets not forget that 'buddy-movies' were all the rage, because they were just jam-packed to the hilt with fun-fun-fun. Granted, on a surface level, the stories were... errr... how can I put it? Vapor thin at best. But apart from that, this genre of entertainment more than made up for it with character and jovial hi-jinks.

'Another Stakeout' is just such a film.

The general through-line, as I just stated, is very simple to follow: For example: (1) Set-up the back-story – woman in trouble. (2) Introduce the main character – say 'hi' to Richard, Rosie, and Emilio. (3) Instigate the adventure – look-out for the woman. (4) Start the adventure – mess about for a bit with a dog, whilst interjecting pithy comments in the process. (5) Conclude the adventure – bong-biff-splash. And (6) Just don’t take yourself too seriously – ditto.

See what I mean?

And this latter statement is precisely at the heart of this film – don’t take yourself you too seriously – plus it does it in style too. You see, unlike the story, all of the main players have there time to shine. Each and every one of them just charms there way though the screen, lavishing the audience with character, pathos, and blatant nineties references. OK, sometimes you have to delve into your own memory banks, just to recollect what reference that the cast is referring too. But I suppose that this is all part of its splendor, huh? Also, in the same vein, it does dates ‘Another Stakeout’ as well. Not that this matter though. I liked it. Other people may not. And conceptually speaking this 'ageing' does not really hinder the story one little bit.

Moreover, another thing that ‘hardly intrudes’ onto the story, is the main villain played by Miguel Ferrer, and the main victim, played by Cathy Moriarty. Listen, this is not referring to their acting abilities at all. Because they have proven themselves in their previous works (such as 'Robocop' and 'Ranging Bull'), that they can act. Rather, it is all to do with the nature of this film. ‘Another Stakeout’ falls into the same trap as most nineties film do – show off the main cast, but don’t stress too much about anything else. OK, normally I am the first person to b*itch about something like this. But because this film was so fun, and all the actors did so well, I will recite its credo once more – don’t take yourself you too seriously.

Just like these film quotes in fact: (1) I usually wait about three days before introducing myself to the people I'm staking out! (2) I don't think you understand the relationship a man has with his facial hair. (3) Listen, if this assignment gets blown, I want to go on record right now, that this is the most stupid, dimwitted, idiotic, moronic piece of putrefied garbage that I have ever in my entire professional career, ever had the displeasure of being involved with. (4) I think we should arrest him for what he's wearing. (5) Cover me! I'm taking a bath. And (6) Here is my badge, here is my gun, and here is me, leaving.

Ha! Overall, 'Another Stakeout' is a products of its time. It's fun to watch. Jovial to follow. And by in large is a very flamboyant affair indeed. OK, so it's no 'Seventh Seal' or 'Goodfellas' (click on the links for the reviews). But what it is, is a jolly film in the same vein as the first 'Stake Out', with a dash of 'Lethal Weapon' thrown in for good measure. Defiantly one to watch, because it is a silly sequel with a lot of charm. Agreed guys?